Grants to study hospitality in Bamako

The eight young graduates from SOS Villages d’Enfants Mali who received grants from Monaco’s Official Development Assistance © SOSVE-2018

In partnership with the Ecole Hôtelière Chiaka Sidibé in Bamako and SOS Villages d’Enfants Mali, Monaco’s Department of International Cooperation finances study grants for 18 disadvantaged young people to enable them to undertake professional training leading to a qualification and easily access jobs in the growth sectors of hospitality and tourism.

Eight young people from the first cohort recently earned their diplomas. Over a period of ten months, the eight students completed theoretical and practical courses at the Ecole Hôtelière Chiaka Sidibé, a private vocational college offering training in cookery, front-of-house service and sales, and baking and pastry skills. It is the first catering school in the country to offer work placements and was established in 2015 by Mr Mossadeck Bally, CEO of hotel group Azalai and Monaco’s Consul in Mali.

Unemployment and underemployment are huge challenges in Mali, and it is young people who are most affected by this crisis. SOS Villages d’Enfants Mali provides monitoring and support for children who have been orphaned or abandoned, or whose families do not have the means to enable them to study.